Mohamed Salah scored the equaliser and set up the winner as Egypt beat Morocco 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations, extending his stay in Cameroon.
It has been a difficult tournament for Salah, who has often struggled to make an impact within a hit-and-miss Egypt squad, but he has proved influential in the knockout stages.
Liverpool’s No. 11 struck once in Group D, which saw his country finish second behind Nigeria, before scoring the decisive spot-kick to beat Ivory Coast in the last 16.
Sunday saw Salah make his fifth start of the tournament, in a quarter-final clash against a much-fancied Morocco side.
As has been the case throughout AFCON, a slow tempo played out for much of the contest, though former Southampton winger Sofiane Boufal put Morocco a goal up from the spot in the sixth minute.
Egypt’s response did not come until after the break, and it was Salah who drew level, tapping home after Bono had kept out Mohamed Abdelmonem’s header.
Who else!? ?
Mohamed Salah reacts fastest to tap in the rebound and Egypt are level in their #AFCON2021 clash with Morocco! ?? pic.twitter.com/veB9MQfGPd
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 30, 2022
For the second game in a row, Egypt were held to extra time, and upon the restart, the 29-year-old helped put them 2-1 up.
It came through a typically tricky run down the right flank, with Salah clipping the ball across the six-yard box with his right foot for Aston Villa‘s Trezeguet to seal the victory.
Mohamed Salah – WOW! ??
The Egyptian winger turns the Morocco defence inside out and squares it to #AVFC's Trézéguet for a tap in! ?? pic.twitter.com/UaEEXMwNuD
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) January 30, 2022
Egypt will go on to play hosts Cameroon in the semi-final, which will take place on Thursday night.
The other semi-final is to be contested by Burkina Faso and one of Senegal or Equatorial Guinea, with those two sides facing off in their quarter-final tonight.
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